Adventures in Veganism: Day 2

Day 1 started off pretty well.  The food tasted decent so far, not like cardboard as Keith presumed. Each dish had intense flavors that distracted me from thinking "oh-no-this-is-totally-vegan-will-it-taste-good-yikes".  I was not starving (yet) and so I felt better about heading into Day 2 of my vegan adventure. 

For breakfast on Day 2, I ate a Blueberry Muffin yet was surprisingly disappointed in its quality.  First, the muffin did not look like the picture, rather it was more lopsided and misshapen from the vacuum sealed pouch. Not a big deal - but the consistency was odd! Very gummy and dense with little blueberry flavor. I think there were only about 3 blueberries total in it that I could see.  I cut it in half to inspect further and it just looked like a thick glob of dough, almost as if it were undercooked.  Again, I was surprised because I know vegan muffins and cookies can be done properly and there are many successful bakeries that specialize in vegan baking. However, this muffin was my least favorite item so far. 

Even worse was the Vegetable Paella with "Chicken" that I ate for lunch.  The smell was very off putting to me - almost sour.  The vegetables looked and tasted like a canned or pickled variety and overall was unlike any Spanish paella I've had before.  I tried to pick out most of the mushrooms and mock "chicken" bits to get as much substance as possible, but could not finish the rest. Blluuggh. I emailed Keith at work to notify him of my lunch #fail, and he responded in shock with "What!? Paella is sooo good!" I answered, "I know! I was totally looking forward to it, too. But they did this one wrong!"  What a bummer!

Day 2 was not going well, and I really hoped dinner would be much better. The package was labeled Fettuccine Alfredo with peas and broccoli. I am not the hugest fan of peas, but the picture didn't look so bad which gave me high hopes.  Unfortunately, there were peas galore! And not fresh, bright, green ones either.  With only two pieces of shaved broccoli, I picked out all the puke green colored peas like a stubborn four-year-old.  I was left with a small yet appropriate amount of noodles that tasted alright, with a slight sour flavor again from the veggies.  It was not a decadent bowl of cheesy fettuccine alfredo - rather, a worse than frozen meal version that left me unsatisfied.

Dessert was a dry Peanut Butter Cookie that looked way better than it tasted.  I may have made a mistake of warming it up in the microwave for 15 seconds, as recommended on the packaging.  It just left a chalky texture to the cookie, which crumbled apart sadly.  Overall, Day 2 of my vegan adventure was a disappointing and slightly tumultuous one.  Hopefully Day 3 will be more enjoyable.

What I ate:

Blueberry Muffin

organic blueberries, baking powder, baking soda, organic flour,
salt, organic evaporated sugar, vegetable oil
This is what the picture looked like:

This is what mine actually looked like:

Vegetable Paella with "Chicken"

textured vegetable protein (soy flour, soybean oil, yeast extract, corn protein),
organic brown rice, organic corn, organic carrots, organic mushrooms,
organic tomatoes, organic garlic, organic peas, lemon juice,
onions, vegan herbs and spices
This is what the picture looked like:

This is what mine actually looked like:

 

Fettuccine Alfredo with peas and broccoli

Organic fettuccini pasta, organic green onion or organic shallots,
organic extra virgin olive oil, organic broccoli, organic peas,
 organic garlic, organic parsley, organic tofu, organic soy milk,
daiya cheese (Italian), vegan herbs and spices
This is what the picture looked like:

This is what mine actually looked like:

Peanut Butter Cookie

Organic rice flour, organic sugar, organic brown sugar, vegan shortening,
organic peanut butter, egg replacer, baking soda, baking powder, salt
This is what the picture looked like:

This is what mine actually looked like:

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Introduction

Day 1